Loving Leah
by Lygow
Summary: Leah is finally doing well in college when a drunken encounter with the handsome Ben Lincoln leads to some very unexpected changes in her life.
1. A Reason to Celebrate

Fic: Loving Leah

Chapter one: Reason to Celebrate

Disclaimer: All the original Twilight characters do not belong to me. Everyone else portrayed in this fiction is mine.

Author's notes: I thought Leah deserved her own happiness, but figured she'd of course fight it when the time came around.

It reminded me of swimming in deep water. Sometimes you lose your sense of up and down and you have to be still for a second to figure out which way is the surface. It was disorienting, frightening and then my gravity settled into place and my world oriented on the man standing across from me.

"Who is that?" I demanded. Karen's boyfriend Brandon stood next to the guy, laughing at something he'd said. Karen looked over to see who I had indicated. She snorted.

"Benjamin Lincoln the third," She said, enunciating each syllable of his name. "Heir to the real estate empire and new best friend with Brandon. He just transferred in and they spend so much time together that I swear if I didn't know how much Brandon loved vaginas I'd consider him a threat." I choked on my coke and spit it back into my cup, wincing as it burned my nose. I sputtered for a second, looking like an idiot before the name clicked.

"Benjamin LINCOLN?" I said too loudly. I looked around to make sure no one had heard me, luckily the party was loud. I lowered my voice, "As in Lincoln Hall, Lincoln?" Karen nodded. "The very same. Both of his parents are Alumni here. His grandfather too. I guess it's a tradition for them to go here, even though he wasn't here as a freshman. Seems like a rich kids like that would be going to Yale or some other Ivy league."

I listened to Karen ramble on with one ear, but all my other senses were trained on the man across from me. He was very tall. Brown hair with some gold highlights, probably from spending the summer on his parent's yacht. The most beautiful green eyes… And most definitely drunk off his ass.

He laughed uproariously at something Brandon said and accidentally spilled some of his beer unto the guy sitting next to him on the couch. I was drawn closer to him, leaving Karen talking to some other friends. Brandon spotted me and waved me over to introduce me. Benjamin turned glazed eyes on me and gave me a drunk smile, showing perfect teeth in his tan face.

"Hey Brandon," he slurred. "Who's the dyke?"

WHAM!

I could see immediately his nose was broken. It bled everywhere for one thing. The profusion of curses erupting from Benjamin's mouth was another clue. My hand didn't even hurt. I added insult to injury by pouring what was left of my backwashed coke on top of his head before turning and storming out of the frat house.

"Idiot," I heard Brandon say as I stalked out of the house. "That's Leah Clearwater. The school track champion. You don't fuck with her."

* * *

I had made it into college. No luck with my grades, but being able to run like the wind had gotten me a full scholarship to a college on the East coast. As far away from the Olympic Penninsula as possible. I'd gotten one other scholarship that paid for some of my other expenses and after freshman year let me move into one of the nicer building that served as off campus housing.

I hadn't transformed in almost 2 years. The urge to do so had been horrible in the beginning. It felt like my skin was too tight, pressed outward from the wolf within me. Stretching me until the skin would split. Now, it was barely noticeable. Another 2 years maybe and I wouldn't feel it at all. I would age. I waited eagerly for a period. Carlisle had told me that menstruating would indicate I was aging again and I would no longer need to worry about phasing. I could be normal. I could go on with my life and put my extremely strange and painful teenage years behind me.

School had been going great for the last year. My two roommates were made of awesome and my grades had been steadily improving as I gained my footing in the world of higher academics. I had even gotten a recommendation from my drafting professor this morning for that internship I had wanted at the architect firm downtown. Dr. Neilson didn't give recs to anyone and I certainly hadn't had the nerve to ask him. I know my mouth fell open when he asked me to come to his office and handed me the heavy, cream colored envelope holding what was almost guaranteed to get me an excellent job – if I didn't screw up the internship, that is. That was why I was at the party. Karen had said it was to celebrate. Jenny had opted out. She had baking class first thing in the morning. It was with the knowledge that she was probably fast asleep that I refrained from slamming the door when I stomped into our small apartment. I had run all the way from the other side of campus. I was breathing hard, but more from temper than exertion. My stomach roared and I winced and went to the fridge. A note was held on with a magnet.

Leah- Grats on the Rec! There's a pie in the fridge for you. Don't eat it all at once! – Jen

I grabbed a plate and after carefully cutting the heavenly looking cherry pie in half, I retired to the couch to watch reruns of sex and the city and contemplate my evening.

I'd imprinted. After almost completely giving up hope of ever achieving the kind of purpose my pack mates had found in their imprints, my whole being had suddenly settled on a man who I had no chance in hell with. I'd actually _hit_ him. I didn't even know it was possible to harm an imprint. All the stories say you're everything they need, a perfect mate. Harming a pack mate's imprint was punishable by expulsion from the tribe, or worse. I laughed at myself as I got up to rinse my plate in the sink. Benjamin Lincoln, I guess you needed a good punch to the face.

I leaned my head against the cool wood of the kitchen cabinets and fought against the sting of tears. I would NOT cry. This was just one other thing I had to get past to put this whole horrible phasing thing behind me. I'm HUMAN. Humans don't fall in love at first sight. I'll get over it and in a few years time it will fade too and I can get on with my life.

Oh Fuck it, I'm eating the whole pie.


	2. Reparations

Fic: Loving Leah

Chapter 2: Reparations

Disclaimer: All the Original Twilight characters do not belong to me. Everyone else is mine.

I loved the quiet of the library. I don't mean the whispered conversations and quiet page turnings of general Libraries. I mean the- you could hear the silverfish having their evening snack -kind of quiet that could only be achieved in the bowels of the 2nd basement where they kept all the old newspaper film. Nobody came back here except me. One of the guys who worked at the front desk said that after they had scanned in all the film and made them accessible from the main computers, everyone who had needed the information just looked there. I had found this corner almost by mistake and I was surprised that my butt hadn't formed a groove in my favorite chair. I had needed to study a lot in my freshman year to catch up to everyone else. I hadn't bothered too much with school to begin with and then when the change came it became impossible to attend classes regularly. I had been getting better though. I'd taught myself how to study and other than my track practices, my social life was almost non-existent, so I had the time to dedicate to my grades.

It wasn't just my place to study though. It was my place to center. I needed the quiet. A girl needs her space you know and after spending so much time with a half dozen boys yammering in my head, I really needed some time with my own thoughts. My own little fortress of solitude, I thought and smiled.

I was irritated when I heard the heavy metal door that led to the stairwell open. Probably one of the Librarian's minions, I thought. Every once in a while they came down here and dusted. I immediately began tapping my pencil against the desk and humming. One poor girl had just about had a heart attack when she had arrived, dust rag in hand and been very surprised to see me. I'd had to spend the next 15 minutes letting her breathe in and out of the brown paper bag my lunch had been packed in until she'd calmed down. The head librarian had stopped me on one of my next visits and asked that I please endeavor not to startle her poor assistants anymore. I was on my second round of "Yellow Submarine" when Benjamin Lincoln poked his head around the corner.

It had been a week since our run in at the party. His nose was still taped and both of his eyes were slightly blackened. I'd knocked him a good one. Damnit. He smiled at the sight of me though and I eyed him warily. What the hell-?

"Hey Leah. These are for you," he said and produced a colorful bouquet of tulips. "I'm sorry. I was an ass. I was drunk, but that's not an excuse and I'm sorry." _He'd brought me flowers._ My heart fluttered in my chest, but I stilled it ruthlessly.

"You _were_ an ass," I said and turning back to my books, tried to ignore him and his peace offering.

"Please forgive me?" He said and ducked his head to meet my eyes. God, he's beautiful, I thought. I sighed and reached out for the bouquet. "Fine. You're forgiven. "

"Thanks. I'm Ben," he said, holding out his hand. I ignored it. He had perfect nails. He must have them done. He waited a second and then let his hand drop.

"I know who you are," I told him. "Benjamin Lincoln the third. You've got every girl on campus stalking your ass trying to convince you that they're your Cinderella. The collective drooling when you walk in a room is irritating to say the least."

"I don't ask for the attention," he snapped.

"You don't seem to mind it either," I sounded jealous to my own ears and I turned my head away quickly to hide my grimace. _Idiot._

"I do," he said and sat down on the edge of the desk. "Why do you think I was so fucking drunk when you met me." He ran a hand through his hair, tousling it out of its perfect order. I ached to smooth it back into its perfect waves. To run my fingers through his hair, scratch my nails along his scalp... Agh! Stop it! He continued on without noticing my infatuation, thank God.

"My first day of classes and nothing but whispers and guys giving me evil looks and girls throwing themselves at me in the hopes of landing a rich husband. I wish my parents hadn't made me come here."

"Well don't expect me to throw myself at you. I have no interest in you or your money so you can turn around and go right back the way you came." I pointed towards the exit to the main library and summoned one of my best glares. It didn't work as well as it normally did as it was usually accompanied by my looking down my nose at someone. He was so tall, I had to settle for looking him directly in the eyes. God, what beautiful eyes. The color of the ocean after a hell of a storm.

He shrugged and with a "See you around Leah," he left. I waited until he'd trotted to the stairwell before flopping into my seat and dropping my head into my hands. The bright flowers caught my eye and I reached out a finger to stroke one soft petal.

Great Job Leah. I groaned and banged my head on the desk. Way to endear yourself to your one true love. It's for the best. It would never work out. Damnit. I have the worst bad luck. I finally imprint and it's with someone way, way out of my league. I gave up on studying and began packing up my books. There was no way I was going to be able to concentrate anymore tonight.

O O O O O O O

"Damn, she's fast," Ben said as he watched Leah's long legs gobble up track at an amazing speed. Her teammates were way behind her, pumping their arms and puffing hard while Leah seemed only to be casually loping. Then as he watched, he was sure of it! She looked behind her and intentionally slowed down to let the others catch up her to a bit before she passed the finish line. "Good Job Leah!" the coach yelled, noting the time on her clipboard. "Come on girls! Hustle! Hustle!"

"Geez Leah! Way to make us all look bad!" One yelled in good humor as she crossed the finish line. Leah seemed on good terms with all her teammates and made jokes about the "shorties" not being able to keep up with her. She was definitely tall. A little over 6 feet if he guessed correctly.

"Yeah," Brandon said next to him. "Broke all the school records her freshman year. There's even been some talk about her being scouted for the Olympics, but apparently Leah wasn't interested. Said running was something fun and that she was glad it got her through school, but that she wasn't interested in doing it after school. Not that apparently she does anything after school except study. Karen said that party you met her at was the first one she'd been to all year." Ben winced at the memory. He sure as hell wasn't ever getting that drunk again. Vomiting so hard it came out your broken nose made an impact on a person.

O O O O O O O

I stopped to stretch. It felt good to run, but it was no where as fast as I knew I could run. I'd never be able to shake those recruiters if they saw that. As it was I'd had to make up some shit about how my grandfather thought running in the Olympics for the U.S. would be akin to enslaving myself to the white man, yada, yada, yada. Apparently I'd made it sound serious enough because even the most zealous ones backed off. Ha! My grandfather would have loved to have seen me kicking everyone's asses, except that it might bring too much attention back home. I may not want to be a wolf anymore, but that didn't mean I don't want to protect the pack. The less attention anyone paid the sleepy Indian town of La Push, the better.

"Nice legs huh?" Brandon said and I whipped around to see him nudging Ben as the latter stared. He quickly turned away though and walked away, Brandon trailing behind him.

I felt my heart clench. He had no interest in someone like me. A guy like that could crook his finger and the supermodels would come running. Why were they at track practice though? Brandon knew I'd kick his ass if I caught him cheating on Karen with another girl. Must've been Ben coming around to ogle the girls in their track shorts and Brandon tagged along. Probably trying to find his next sexual conquest, I thought with a grimace. The jackass.

O O O O O O O

"Okay. Spill," Karen demanded. I cocked one eyebrow at her. "Huh?" She pointed one pink nail at the bouquet on our kitchen table. "Ben," she clarified. "What's going on with you two? I know for a fact that in addition to buying you flowers from the most expensive florist in town he's been grilling Brandon for every detail he knows about you. "

"He's been WHAT?" I demanded. "Are you serious?" Karen giggled madly. 

"What's so funny?" Jenny asked as she came in the front door. Her straight blonde hair was pulled back into a business-like bun and she had on the minimal make-up that was required on the days when she served in the campus café. She was incredibly petite and Karen and I loomed over her whenever we went somewhere together. She tossed her keys into the catch all bowl on the counter and flopped into the chair across from the couch where Karen and I were sitting.

"Leah's got an admirer," Karen said, red curls bobbing in mirth.

"Oooh!" Jenny squealed. "It's Ben Lincoln isn't it?" My mouth fell open. "You're so lucky Leah," She gushed. "He's so cute. Maybe I should slug the next cute guy I see at a party," she teased. "It seemed to work for you." My mouth opened and closed like a landed fish and then to my utter horror, I felt my eyes begin to fill with tears.

"Oh honey," Karen said and moved to wrap her arms around me. "We're just teasing you. Don't get upset!"

"He doesn't like me at all," I choked out, horrified the whole time at my emotional state. "He only brought me the flowers to apologize for calling me a dyke."

"Is _that_ what he called you," Karen asked. "Geez, no wonder you hit him. He's lucky you didn't remove his balls on the spot and use them as fuzzy dice." I laughed and wiped my damp eyes on my sleeve.

"Well, it's true anyway. There isn't a feminine thing about me. My hair is short and I don't paint my toenails and I can eat a 20 oz steak in one sitting!" They chuckled with me. "There is nothing about me that is attractive to a heterosexual male in any way."

"That's not true!" Jenny defended. "You've got great legs and beautiful skin. You're just a little-" she looked at Karen for support.

"Fierce," Karen supplied. Jenny nodded in agreement. "You're really interested in him though aren't you?" she asked gently. I nodded. "But he's rich and handsome and I don't want to be one more girl throwing myself at him!"

"We'll help!" Karen exclaimed and scrambled off the couch. "C'mon Jenny. We're going shopping. Grab your mad money Leah. You're going to need it."

I nodded and grabbed the jar from above the fridge that held the cash that the scholarship foundation sent me every month. I had my suspicions about that second scholarship I'd been awarded. "Young women of quality" huh? And who sends a recipient a grand a month without any interviews or reviews along the way? The whole thing stank of Cullen. Still, dad had always said don't look a gift horse in the mouth. I took two hundreds out of the jar, wincing as I did so and resolutely grabbed my purse on the way to being dragged out the door by my enthusiastic roommates.


	3. Set Up

Fic: Loving Leah

Chapter 3: Set Up

Disclaimer: All the original Twilight Characters do not belong to me. Everyone else is mine.

Author's notes: Thank you for the nice reviews guys!

I got home that evening and flopped on the couch. I felt like a barbie. I'd had a mani pedi, my hair had been cut and lightened with some highlights, I had a bag with a new silk dress and a box with strappy heels in it. Heels! I'm 6'2 Karen. I don't need heels. But she was insistent and if you overlooked the fact that I'd had to stoop to see myself in the dressing room mirror, I did look pretty nice. Karen and Jenny had stayed at the mall to do a bit more shopping, but I'd had enough and came home ahead of them. My stomach growled and I prowled to the fridge to see what sort of leftovers there might be. As usual, the fridge was full of containers. God bless culinary school roommates, I thought as I grabbed one to pop into the microwave. I double checked to make sure it wasn't in a red container.

When we were first roommates, I'd come home from a track meet starving and eaten everything in the fridge, thinking that I'd buy the girls pizza to make up for the fact that I'd eaten all the leftovers. Little did I know that one particularly delicious item was an assignment that Jenny had due that afternoon! She actually teared up when I told her I had eaten it. Luckily her professor had a sense of humor and when I showed up at his office claiming my guilt in ruining her assignment he said he would take my word for it that it was perfect, but recommended that we come up with a system for identifying containers with assignments in it. Thus, the red containers. When I was rich and famous, I was hiring Jenny as my personal chef. She'd made bourbon chicken last night for dinner and tonight the white board we kept in the kitchen said she was making pasta and bruchetta. Thanks to my Scholarship money, we ate better than most of the students on campus. No Ramen for us. On the weekends Jenny made lobster pancakes and when Karen had the flu, she'd made her homemade chicken and dumplings. It was heavenly. In exchange for her wonderful cooking, Karen and I did all the clean up in the apartment and bought the groceries.

I took a moment to admire the pretty pink polish that adorned my rounded nails. It did look quite pretty. Maybe I could pull this off. I just needed to have Karen pick out my outfit for me in the morning and then find an opportunity to casually bump into Ben. Oh please let him notice the changes, I pled girlishly with the fates. I really just want a chance with him!

O O O O O O O

"Do I have to run into you everywhere I go?" I demanded, halfway out the door of McAllen building when I literally had to dodge around the tall frame of my imprint. Ben looked gorgeous as always in dark wash jeans and a gray long sleeved shirt. Fall was setting in. I was wearing a shockingly short plaid shirt and white top. I should have been cold, but my high temp kept me toasty in all but the coldest weather. He didn't say anything, but his eyed took in everything from my mile long legs to my lightened hair. I had been blushing all day from people's stares and comments. Now when I finally saw Ben I danced impatiently in place, trying to ignore my increasingly insistent bladder. I turned to bolt when Ben's hand caught me by the arm. An electric shock went through me at his touch and I lost my breath. _Oh wow_…

"Hey, wait up," he said. "I want to talk to you for a minute."

"What do you want?" I demanded, caught between the sheer joy of being so close to him- which I viciously tamped down lest it erupt into a goofy grin on my face- and the overwhelming feeling that I really needed to go to the bathroom. Damn bladder buster slurpees. Fate would be sick enough to make me wet myself in front of Ben Lincoln.

He smiled and adjusted the straps on his backpack. "I just wanted to see if you were going to be home tonight. I ran into your roommate Jenny at the café and she invited me and Brandon over for dinner and I was going to bring a movie over but I didn't know what you might like to see – Why are you hopping around like that? Ants in your pants?"

"Yes, I will be home," I rattled off. "I don't care what movie you bring and if you don't mind, the reason I'm 'hopping around' is that I very much have to go to the bathroom!" He looked at me, knees locked together and then looked to his right, where not 10 feet from us was the door to the ladies restroom. He looked back at me with raised eyebrows.

"McAllen building was built in 1965," I explained. "The walls in the ladies restrooms are so short I can look over into the next stall. I refuse to pee here." As I stormed out the glass doors to make a sprint for the student center, I could hear him laughing behind me. God, I was going to hear about this later.

O O O O O O O

_They set me up!_ I thought angrily as I got off the phone with Jenny later that night. Ben sat on the floor of our apartment opening and closing the DVD case he had brought with him. _Muppets from Space_. Well, that had been a surprise. I had come home from classes to find Karen and Jenny frantically cleaning and cooking. The plan was that Karen was going to go pick Brandon up from work and Jenny was coming straight back to the apartment after her evening class. That's what they told me anyway. They had both laughed uproariously when I'd told them about my less than entrancing encounter with Ben that afternoon, but were both positive he'd noticed the changes. They'd assured me that tonight would go better and I'd have an opportunity to redeem myself. Those sneaky little-

"She's not coming either, huh?" He said.

"No," I growled. "Said she had to go rescue a classmate who's car had broken down. And when I asked what classmate she gave me the, 'Oh, you wouldn't know them!' line. Jenny is such a bad liar. "

"Brandon's not much better. He didn't sound sick at all. And I seriously doubt he's sick enough that Karen needs to be there to care for him. They set us up."

"I'm going to kill them when they get home!" I fumed. Ben laughed at my ire.

"Well, there's still food and a damn good movie so the evenings not a total bust," he said. "Might as well make the best of it and deal with our conniving friends later." He moved to put the movie in the DVD player and I dished up two bowls of spaghetti for us.

"What made you bring this movie?" I asked, picking it up and reading the back cover. "I've never seen it before. I figured you'd be bringing Die Hard or Kill Bill."

"You've never seen _Muppets from Space_?" he asked incredulously. "It's hilarious! I brought it because anyone who ever sees it loves it. You'll see. It's great." The movie started and we dug into our bowls and laughed at Piggy, Kermit and Gonzo. I debated momentarily about whether it was lady-like to eat a massive bowl of spaghetti, but decided it would be far worse to only eat a few bites and have to listen to my stomach roar for the rest of the movie.

"I am not a shrimp!" Ben yelled. "I'm a king prawn!" I dissolved into helpless giggles.

O O O O O O O

"Hey," Ben said after the movie was over and we were piling the dishes in the sink. Karen could wash them, I thought maliciously. As payback for messing with me. "I really am sorry," he said. "For what I said to you at the party. It was a rude and untrue thing to say and I regret it. I know you probably still think I'm an ass, but for what it's worth. I'm sorry."

"Well then I'm sorry for breaking your nose," I said as graciously as I could. "I should have just let it go. How's that healing by the way?"

"Almost healed. The doctor said it was just a light fracture and I was lucky you didn't hit me from the side or it would have been crooked for the rest of my life." He carefully rubbed the slight swelling on his nose where I knew the bone would thicken over the break to prevent further damage. Thank God I'd remembered at the last second to pull the punch. I could have flattened his face! "The hard part is going to be explaining it to my mom when I see her next week. I'm certainly not going to tell her I insulted a lady who then knocked me on my ass."

I snorted, "Yeah, good luck with that."

"Just got to do something to distract her," he said and stretched. His knuckles touched the ceiling like mine did. "I guess I'd better head back. I'll call Brandon along the way and tell him thanks for setting you up and giving me a chance to apologize. I hope we can get to be friends Leah. "

"Yeah, me too. Here, I'll walk you out," I offered.

O O O O O O O

We were almost down the stairwell from my apartment on the way to his car when I sensed something was wrong. There was a sickly sweet smell in the air that was all too familiar. _Vampire._

All my hair suddenly stood on end and I went on the defensive, trying to sense where it might be. I grabbed Ben and pulled him behind me. The wolf inside stirred to life and snarled at the threat. I tried desperately to hold it in. I began shaking uncontrollably with the urge to phase. _Oh no! Not here!_

"What-" he started.

"Shh! Stay behind me," I said urgently; Just hoping that he would obey. _Please let it go away_, I thought desperately. I knew I smelled bad to vamps so maybe it would get a whiff of me and head in the other direction. Ben would be safe and I could pass off my odd behavior as some sort of paranoia. That hope was lost when the smell got stronger and I could hear light footsteps heading our way. _Fuck!_

"I don't understand," Ben said and tried to get in front of me. "What's wrong?"

"Just trust me," I begged and shoved him against the back wall of the stairwell. "And whatever you do, don't move!" No matter what, I had to protect Ben.

The pulsing under my skin grew stronger and for the first time in 2 years, I let the wolf out. My clothes shredded as my familiar fur burst out. I was the smallest of the wolves in my pack, but I still filled almost the entire stairwell. I growled.

Oh. It felt so good. Like finally getting to scratch an itch that's been bothering you for an hour.

The vampire turned the corner at the bottom of the stairwell and I leapt down the rest of the steps to tackle it to the ground, reaching quickly to tear its head from its shoulders. To rip it to shreds.

"STOP!"


	4. A Bad B Movie

Fic: Loving Leah

Chapter 4: A Bad "B" movie

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Twilight characters. Everyone else portrayed in this fic is mine.

I froze. All my muscles locked in place and then collapsed underneath the weight of my Alpha's command.

_Jake._

I whimpered. _Shit! _ If he's here that means-! The leech I had knocked down looked over at me with wide eyes. Then pulled herself up and dusted off her designer clothes. Copper colored hair spilled down her back in perfect ringlets and brown eyes looked at me with a smile. "It's ok Leah. It's just me."

Jake was in front of her in an instant. He was shaking in a way that I recognized as contained fury. "What the hell were you thinking?" He demanded.

I phased back. I didn't care at this point that I was naked. I was _furious._

"What was_ I_ thinking?" I snarled. "You brought your fucking leech to my school and near my imprint and you want to know what the hell_ I_ was thinking!" I demanded. Jake started at the mention of Ben and looked behind me at the man standing dumbfounded in the stairwell. "Imprint?" he said quietly.

I growled, fists clenched in impotent rage. "What're you doing here Jake?"

Renesmee quickly took off her peacoat and handed it to me. It was several inches too short and was just shy of obscene. Still, better than standing naked outside my apartment complex where any one of my classmates could wander by.

"We're here to find you Leah," he said. "You don't call. You don't write. You never phase to check in. You're still my responsibility and a member of my pack. I wanted to see how you were."

"He was worried about you," Renesmee chimed in.

"Well look what you've done now!" I shouted. "Two years of work down the drain! I have to start all over again because of you!"

"Lookout!" Jake said and I turned to see poor Ben slump to the floor of the landing behind us, cracking his head on the cement.

"Ben!" I shouted and ran up to him. He'd passed right out. No wonder. How the hell was I going to explain this?

"I've got to get him out of here," I said. "My roommates are going to be home any minute and I can't explain this to them!" Jake and Renesmee exchanged a quick look.

"We'll take him back to our hotel," Jake said. "We can deal with it there."

O O O O O O O

Renesmee distracted the night doorman while Jake snuck through the side entrance of the hotel and carried Ben into the elevator. Renesmee then produced a key out of her purse and used it to unlock and press the button for the top floor. The elevator shot up and we exited out into a plush foyer of the hotel's top suite.

"Sheesh," I said, taking in the wall of windows in the living room and crystal chandelier in the formal dining room. "This suite must cost more than my tuition." Jake grunted and deposited Ben on the couch.

"Have you met the Cullens? " Jake asked. "They don't do Motel 6. Alice booked it for us."

I sat down in the chair across from Ben and dropped my head into my hands. "How am I going to explain this to him?" I demanded of the posh carpet.

"I don't know, but you'd better think fast," Jake said. "I think he's starting to wake up."

I moved to kneel next to him. There was a nasty lump rising on his head and a smear of blood where the skin had scrapped on the cement. "Ben, are you ok?" I asked anxiously. He opened his eyes and after taking in the three of us staring at him he stood from the couch and calmly walked to the bathroom and locked himself in. The sound of vomiting was loud in the sensitive ears of the 3 supernatural being left standing in the parlor. I winced. There was some running water and then nothing.

He finally came out and Renesmee met him at the door with some ice in a towel she had retrieved from the kitchen. He took it with a polite thank you and held it to the lump on his head.

"Ok," he said. "Somebody start explaining about what I saw and how I ended up in a suite of the Grand Riano Hotel."

"I don't suppose you'd take the explanation that my friends were visiting and decided to play a big joke on us?" I asked. I got a glare for my efforts.

"No," he said coldly.

"Right," I looked at Jake. "Care to help me out here? It's all your fault this happened anyway."

"My fault?" He said. "I wasn't the one who all but disappeared! You didn't even tell us you had imprinted and then to go and phase in the middle of a city!"

"Whoa, Whoa, whoa!" Ben yelled. "Hold up. One thing at a time. What was that thing I saw back at the apartment? That huge dog or wolf or whatever."

I sat down heavily on the couch and dropped my head into my hands. "That was me."

"What do you mean that was you? What are you, some kind of werewolf or something?" He glanced out the window at the sickle moon rising over the cityscape.

I laughed without humor. "Not quite. It's a genetic thing. Something that was passed down from my ancestors. We're shape shifters. We carry the spirit of the wolf within us to protect our people. I wasn't bitten by a werewolf and I don't go mad and change at the full moon. I haven't phased in two years and had plans to not change ever again until these two came into town. I wouldn't have done it then, but I was trying to keep you safe."

"I'm sorry Leah," Renesmee said, shamefaced. "I shouldn't have insisted on coming with Jacob. I didn't realize. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault Nessi." Jacob soothed her.

"It's OK Renesmee," I gave her the best smile I could. She was still a kid and really hadn't thought about it beforehand. And I couldn't really blame Jake either. He never could say no to her. "I can't keep running from who I am."

The sound of the hotel phone being dialed behind us had me panicked. Was Ben calling the police? The looney bin?

"Hey," he said to someone on the other line. "This is Benjamin Lincoln, let me talk to Manuel please." Here he paused. "Hey Manuel! Como esta? Eh bien, bien. I'm sorry to bother you. I know you're probably swamped down in the kitchen, but some friends of mine are staying in the presidential suite and we're starved. When you get a chance can you send us up some grub? Gracias!"

"What?" He said as we all stared. "My parents own this hotel and I'm hungry."

O O O O O O O

Two hours, eight cheeseburgers, a mountain of fries and four milkshakes later, Jake was eyeing the dark chocolate cake that had been sent up and Renesmee was calling her parents to check in. Man, this was a fancy hotel. Jake and I had been able to order lactose free milkshakes. Ben rubbed his head and reached for his milkshake before realizing his glass was empty. He frowned at it and glanced at the phone, seemingly contemplating ordering another before shaking his head and putting the glass down.

"So let me get this straight," he said. "You two," indicating Jake and I, "are shape shifting wolf guardians of your Indian tribe." I nodded. "And she," a thumb pointed at Renesmee, who had rejoined us in the living room. "Is your vampire soul mate?" Jake grinned. "Yep."

"Half-vampire," Renesmee corrected, sitting down next to Jake. "My mother was human."

"You realize this is ridiculous and has all the making of a really bad B movie don't you?"

"We didn't ask for this!" I started, but Jake interrupted me.

"Easy Leah," Jacob said. "It's a lot to take in and really, he's handling it better than some have." Actually, Ben looked amazingly calm and contemplative as he doled out cake to himself and Jake. Ness politely refused.

"So if he's the alpha male of your pack, and you're the beta female, does that mean you guys-"

"No!" all three of us all but shouted, startling poor Ben.

"It doesn't work like that," Jake said. "We have one specific mate and we're loyal for the rest of our lives."

"Yeah, the imprinting you told me about," Ben said. "It's like love at first sight I guess. So you imprinted on Renesmee and now she's your what? Wife? Mate? Isn't she a little young for you?" Renesmee giggled.

"Boy, if you knew," She laughed.

Jacob scowled at his imprint and grudgingly admitted Renesmee's advanced aging to Ben. "She's four," He said. "She grows fast."

"Almost five!" She argued. Ben rubbed his aching head. He'd taken some aspirin, but I'm sure he was going to be sore for several days.

"Man, you guys hurt my head."

"Don't worry, it's not like that, " I reassured him. "She's his imprint. He would never do anything to harm her. He'll be her best friend their whole lives. In a few years he'll be her husband and no one will ever be more important to him, ever."

"Oh," He said. "Wow. That's just wild. Do you have an imprint too, Leah?"

"Yeah, " I closed my eyes. Might as well get it out. "Don't freak OK? You're my imprint Ben."

"Me?" He laughed. "That doesn't make any sense. You hated me Leah. The first time I met you, you punched me in the face. And then when I tried to apologize you all but threw me out of the library!"

"Leave it to Leah to show love through bruises," Jake mumbled. I chucked a decorative glass paperweight at him. "Ow!" He yelled when it hit him in the chest, then bounced harmlessly onto the thick carpet.

"I'll show YOU bruises!" I said and got up to break a few of his bones, Alpha or no Alpha. I was stopped by the sound of the elevator dinging in the lobby. A second later a key was inserted into the suite door.

"It's my parents," said Renesmee and she got up to meet the beautiful vampiric couple at the door. The smell wafted in with them and I wrinkled my nose against it. Gah, I thought Renesmee smelled bad. She's nothing compared to the full blooded thing. I glanced over at Jake, but didn't see a reaction. He must be used to it.

Renesmee walked up to her parents, placing one hand on each of their faces. I'd forgotten she could do that. She must be showing them everything that had happened today. Edward growled softly and I winced. Damn, she must have been showing him where I attacked her.

"Sorry," I said immediately. "They didn't give me any warning. I was working on instinct."

"It's ok Leah," Bella said. "Everyone is safe. And it appears we're going to be adding a member to our strange little circle."

"Oh no," I said. "Leave him out of it." But Edward had already started the introductions.

"Edward Cullen," he said. "This is my wife Bella and I see you've already met our daughter Renesmee."

"Thank you," Edward said to Ben.

"Huh?" The other man said, rubbing at his sore head.

"You were thinking Nessie had gotten her beautiful hair color from me," Edward said. "I took it as a compliment." Ben stared at him, bug-eyed.

"Yes," Edward continued. "I can read minds, but don't worry, it's only me. None of the others can hear you. "

"Um, hello!" I said, waving my hands in the air between the two. "It's rude to have one sided conversations! Quit freaking him out further."

"Oh," Edward looked abashed. "Sorry Leah. I forget sometimes."

"I'm Benjamin Lincoln," Ben said, making a visible effort to pull a business-like air around him.

"The third?" Edward asked. "Angelina Gebranzia is your mother?" Ben looked startled.

"Yes," he said. "How did you know that?"

"One of our companies does business with your companies. Your family always does honorable dealings. I had heard the oldest son was in college. We're investing in your housing development in North Atlanta."

"The Marietta development? My father designed that. What do you think about the smart expansion plans they're implementing?" And just like that Ben blended right in with the Cullen family. Bella rolled her eyes and came over to sit with Renesmee and me, calmly asking if Renesmee had hunted in the last few days. She placed a large shopping bag in front of me.

"Renesmee said you might need these," Bella said. I looked in the bag to see it was full of clothes. "I took a guess from what I remembered your size to be. I made sure not to touch any of them though. I remember you're very sensitive to the smell."

I took them into the bathroom and changed into a pair of gray pinstriped pants and a fitted white shirt. There was a soft black sweater in there as well but I didn't need it. The box at the bottom had a pair of black leather loafers that had to be the most comfortable things I'd ever worn. I refused to even look at any of the price tags and dumped them into the trash without a glance. At least I was dressed. It was hard to retain your dignity when you're one wrong move away from flashing everyone in the room. I stopped in the doorway to the bathroom and took in, what to anyone else would look like an everyday gathering of friends and family.

I watched Ben as he spoke of various prospectus and building designs with the glittering cityscape visible behind him through the glass walls. Ben wasn't just "Ben." A guy who liked the Muppets and ate his burgers with extra pickles. He was Benjamin Lincoln the third; A man who had been raised to take over his parents' empire. His parents owned this whole fucking hotel and I had been trying to find a way into his heart with spaghetti and a new hairstyle. Edward must have picked up on my despairing thoughts because his concerned eyes moved to meet mine.

_Don't you dare say anything!_ I shouted at him with my thoughts. _It's my decision. _ Ben deserved and needed someone better than me. He needed a queen. In the end, I was nothing but a dog.


	5. Try

Fic: Loving Leah

Chapter 5: Try

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Twilight characters. Everyone else in this fic is mine.

Author's notes: Falling in love is easy. Figuring out what to do then is the hard part.

Jake scribbled down a number on the pad by the phone and handed the scrap of paper to Ben. "Here's my cell," he said. "Call me if you need to talk. It's a lot to digest I know."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ben said and pocketed the number. Edward had called a halt to the business talk in order to check out the lump on Ben's head. He said it wasn't a concussion, but suggested that Ben might want to take the next day off from classes and rest. Call his family doctor if he started getting dizzy or confused, etc. The Cullens had ordered a car and driver to take us back to campus. I slid into the backseat next to Ben.

"Hey," Jake said. "Check in with me later. There were other things we needed to talk about, but didn't get the chance."

"Yeah sure," I said and closed the door. It was a short, silent ride back to my apartment. I saw Jenny and Karen's cars in the parking lot when we got there. _Great,_ I thought. I'm sure they're waiting up for me to find out where Ben and I have been. I wasn't sure if I could handle deflecting any excited speculations regarding my love life. I got out of the car, thanking the driver, and was surprised to see Ben slide out behind me. He tipped the driver and then stood on the sidewalk next to me in silence as the car drove off.

"Aren't you going home?" I asked, confused. He shook his head. "I figured we had more to talk about."

"Ben, listen," I started. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this whole thing. I shouldn't have tried-" I stopped and had to gather my courage. "I have no claim on you Ben. I know you're too honorable to compromise our secrets and thank you for that. But I think it might be best if you and I don't see each other any more."

"What?" He said angrily. "What do you mean you have no claim? I'm your fucking soul mate aren't I?" I clutched at my short hair and let out what was dangerously close to a sob.

"Ben, I'm going to love you until my bones turn to dust, I can't control it. But even if you had any interest in me it wouldn't work out. Your family is a fucking dynasty and I'm Leah Clearwater, a dirt poor Indian from Podunk who also has the genetic bad luck of turning into a fucking wolf. I wouldn't even be able to go to school here if it weren't for my scholarships. I'm sorry Ben. You deserve better than that."

"That's a load of shit Leah," he snapped. I looked up from my contemplation of the weeds growing through the sidewalk. "It shouldn't matter to you what my last name is or how much I'm worth. As long as I'm worth it to you- that's all I care about." I stared at him, uncomprehending. He reached up a hand to stroke his fingers through my hair. "I've been stupid in love with you from the minute I sobered up enough to stop cussing the inventor of beer." I choked on a laugh and felt a tear run down my face. He wiped it away.

"I'm not going to deny it," he continued. "You're hella complicated. But I'm not exactly a peach either and that's OK. We'll figure something out. Can we try?" I nodded through my tears and he laughed and pulled me to him. He held me for a long time while I sobbed out my gratitude and relief.

O O O O O O O

"Oh God," Karen said as I walked in the front door. "What did he do now?" I knew my eyes were red and puffy and I was emotionally exhausted. My roommates took one look at me and assumed the worst. "I'll rip his fucking head off!" Karen continued. "He'll wish I'd only broken his nose when I get finished with him!" I couldn't help it and broke out laughing. Karen stalled out and I moved to give her a hug.

"It's fine," I assured her. I heard Jenny let out a sigh of relief. "Everything is fine. We ran into some of my... family and it was a little emotional. I haven't seen them since I moved to the East coast. Ben is great. More than great."

"Oh," Karen stuttered and then switched tracks. "That's wonderful!" She said hoping up and down. "When are you seeing him again?"

"Oh," I blinked. "Uh, I forgot to ask! We ran into Brandon as he was leaving and he offered to give Ben a ride home and I came straight up here."

"That's ok," Jenny said. "We'll invite him over for dinner again… and we'll stick around this time. For real!"

"Ok. Thanks guys," I said and gave them each a hug before I left to go to my room. They both stared after me a little shocked. As a rule, I wasn't very physical with anyone.

I closed the door to my room and clicked the lock before stripping out of all my clothes and curling up on the rug by my bed. I phased into my wolf form and waited.

I didn't have to wait long. Jake's consciousness joined mine after a few minutes. I saw that Renesmee had gone to bed and Jake was in his wolf form in the middle of the suite living room.

"_Yeah," he said. "I'm shedding fur all over these expensive rugs."_

"_The maids are going to hate you."_

"_Bells and Edward tip heavily enough to buy another one of these rugs. They'll get over it." _We were quiet for a second and I got the image of Bella reading in the living room while Jake gazed at her fondly. He probably looked like an overgrown family dog.

"_I'm glad that worked out for you," _I said suddenly_. "With Bella. Not like Sam and me. _

_You both got to keep your love for each other and have your soul mates as well."_

"_He-"_Jake started and then laughed without mirth._ "Well, I was going to say he regrets that he hurt you, but you know that."_

"_Yes, I know."_

"_Well, on to business," _Jake said._ "Your mom is getting married."_

"_To Charlie?" _I asked with surprising pleasure. _"Good for her. I'm-"_ I thought of my dad. His death had coincided with my transformation and the memory was painful, but the thought of my mother remarrying didn't bring with it any sense of betrayal, as I had thought it might. _"I'm happy for her."_

"_They're getting married over Thanksgiving break. There's going to be a bonfire on the beach afterwards. The whole pack is going to be there. They were hoping you would be able to make it." _Break was in two weeks. Not enough time to get a good flight, even if I could afford the tickets to the west coast.

"_I don't know Jake,"_ I said. _"I don't know if I'm ready to go back…"_

"_Well," _he said. _"She said to tell you that she understands if you can't come, but I know it would mean a lot to her if you could be there."_

"_Okay, I'll think about it. How is Seth? I actually miss the little brat."_

"_He's good. He spends more time at the Cullen house than I do,"_ Jake said. _"He thinks the sun rises and sets on Rosalie since she started letting him play with her cars." I got a flash of a memory of my little brother with his head under the hood of a cherry red BMW. Rosalie was standing beside him pointing something out and then wiping her greasy hands on a rag. _

"_Bitch vamp?"_ I said incredulously. _"Seriously?"_

"_Oh, he made a campaign of it," _Jake said. _"Seth can be very persistent."_

Jake stopped here and I could tell he was organizing his thoughts regarding Ben.

"_I'm sorry that didn't go as well as it could have,"_ he said. "_Did you talk to him about it when you got back?"_

I didn't have to answer because all of my thoughts regarding my night poured out in a rush. Jake, to his credit, took them in without comment.

"_He's a good one,"_ he said finally. _"I'm glad. I'd say otherwise I'd kick his ass, but apparently you've got it under control. We'll be in town for another week. Call or phase if you need to talk to me. Imprinting can be a little… intense."_

"_Yeah, sure," _I replied. _"I've got to go. I've got classes in the morning. G'night Jake."_

"_Night, Leah."_

O O O O O O O

The next day came with threatening clouds and a cold wind. I sighed and pulled on jeans with a teal sweater and half-boots. The clothes Bella had given me last night were in a pile in the corner of my room. I eyed them momentarily before stuffing them in the dirty laundry hamper. I'd decide whether or not to throw them away later. The vamps would be happy today. The forecast said the sun wouldn't break through the clouds until late tomorrow afternoon. I grabbed my backpack and in a rare moment of preparedness, an umbrella. The girls had bought it for my birthday this year. A cheery red thing that had up until now been gathering dust in my tiny closet. I was from Washington. Umbrellas were for wussies.

The rain broke around mid-afternoon and I left my second class to see a crowd of students hovering around the building exit, grumbling about the sheets of water pounding the sidewalk. I smiled as I snapped open my umbrella and began the long walk to the library.

I was smugly dry as I walked down the two flights of stairs to get to the basement where I did my studying. My good mood evaporated though when I got near my study table and heard the distinct sounds of another occupant. _Oh no,_ I thought. _If some freshman thinks they're going to jack my corner they've got another thing- _

Ben was sitting with his back to me in my seat humming along to something on his ipod and studying for what looked to be his business ethics class. I stopped dead in my tracks, then stomped up to him and yanked the headphones out of his ears. He jerked and looked back at me before giving me a huge smile. _Yeah, that's not going to work on me._ I leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"Get your ass out of my seat before I dump you out of it."

"Your seat?" he asked. "I didn't see your name on it."

"The head librarian frowns on vandalism," I informed him. I jerked a thumb in the direction of the library proper. "Out. Find your own spot."

"Here," he said. "I'll let you have your seat back and I'll sit down at this end of the table." He gathered up his papers and moved to the end of the six-foot table. I eyed him warily and sat down to study for my graphics class. He looked OK after his ordeal last night.

"You're supposed to be at home resting," I reminded him. He shrugged.

"I've got too much studying to do," he said. "My Ethics professor is riding my ass because of my family and he'd love the opportunity to fail me on this test coming up. He's salivating at the opportunity to use me as an example of non-favoritism."

"Ah," I said. "Well, I suppose I can let you stay here at least for today. If only to make sure you don't black out."

We were quiet after that, each caught up in our own work. I actually managed to ignore him for the most part. Well, ignore isn't the right word. It was more like I was aware of him, but he blended so well into my routine that I found that I didn't really mind him being in my space. _Well,_ I thought. _I suppose that's a good sign._

I started packing up my books after almost two hours and stood to stretch my muscles. "I'm headed home," I said. "Jenny's not working in the café tonight so we're all having dinner together."

"I'm jealous," Ben said and after looking at his watch, began to pack up his things as well.

"You should be," I said. "It's chicken pot pie night." He moaned dramatically. "She did say we would have you over for dinner again sometime soon though," I reassured him.

"Hey," he said as we left the library. It had stopped raining and the sun was going down. "Are you busy Friday night?"

"Um," I stuttered. "No. I have track practice in the afternoon but it's over at 3."

"Would you like to come over to my apartment and watch a movie?" he asked. "I'll get us some dinner too."

"Er, like a date?" I could feel the blush burning my face as I said the words.

"Uh, yeah," he rubbed his head nervously and then winced when he came in contact with the lump. "We did kind of agree to start seeing each other last night, right?"

"I- Well…Shit this is confusing," I huffed and blushed more when Ben laughed at my flustered features. "Stop laughing at me! I've never done this before!"

"What never had a boyfriend?" he asked. "That can't be true."

"No," I said shaking my head. "I've had one of those before-" _Oh God_, the thought of telling him about Sam was suddenly horrifying. "I've gotta go. I'll see you on Friday!"

And like the coward I was, I ran.

Author's notes: We're catching up to my notes, so the updates may slow down a bit.


	6. Shatter

Fic: Loving Leah

Chapter 6: Shatter

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Twilight characters. Everyone else portrayed here is mine.

"I know it's not on par with Jenny's cooking," Ben said. "But I figured we'd order Chinese food."

He rooted around in a drawer full of take out menus and fished out a much handled pink pamphlet. I glanced around his apartment. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting. There was an overstuffed couch that had seen better days, but still looked pretty comfortable. Two mismatched bookcases flanked the TV and were filled with books and DVDs. The walls were bare except for a very large modern art painting that stretched across the wall dividing the kitchen from the living room in vivid streaks of red and black. There was a small stack of pictures next to the TV that it looked like he hadn't gotten around to hanging up yet. The place was even pretty clean.

"What's the movie for tonight?" I asked.

"_The Dark Crystal,_" he said and indicated the DVD case on the coffee table. I couldn't help but laugh. More puppets.

"What's up with you and these kid films?" I asked. He handed me the menu for the Chinese place. _Panda Palace._

"I don't know," he said. "I just like them. And _Dark Crystal_ is a classic, you'll like it."

I looked through the menu while he got the movie out and put it in the DVD player. "I guess I'll have the sesame chicken," I said. "It's pretty hard to mess up." I handed Ben back the menu and sat down on the couch while he called it in.

"Yeah, can I get a double order each of sesame chicken and General Tso's chicken, 2 hot and sour soups, crab ragoons and fried donuts." He rattled off his phone number and hung up the phone.

"The Skeksis always scared me when I was a kid," Ben said, indicating the skeletal bird villains in the movie. "I still think they're creepy." He gave me a mocking grin. "Feel free to hide your eyes if you get scared."

I scowled at him, "I'm not scared of anything."

"Nothing huh?" he asked. "What're your plans for this weekend?" He sat on the couch next to me. I shrugged.

"I've got a meet scheduled for tomorrow morning," I said. "But I think they're going to cancel it because of the rain. Other than that I'm going to clean up the apartment and watch bad television. You?"

"I promised my parents I would drive up to their house tomorrow," He said.

"Oh yeah," I said. "You told me that. Did you decide what you were going to tell your mom about your face?" His black eyes had healed and there was nothing but a little swelling and some tenderness left.

"I figured I'd say I fell on the steps coming down from your apartment," he said.

"Well, that's at least true," I admitted.

"I also thought I could convince you to come along and be a distraction for me." _Do huh?_

"Huh? Me?" I sputtered. I was interrupted by the doorbell ringing and Ben getting up to pay for our mountain of food. He started distributing the Chinese on the coffee table and I tried to find a graceful way to get out of going to his parents house.

"I can't go with you to your parents," I said, heaping steamed rice onto my paper plate. It smelled great and I was hungry. I hoped my stomach wouldn't embarrass me by growling.

"Huh? Why not?" he asked. "If the meet's cancelled, you don't have any other plans, right?"

"Well, no-"

"Then come with me," he said. "It'll be fine. I promise. We'll drive up, spend two hours having lunch with my parents and we'll come back. Completely painless."

"And who are you going to tell them I am?" I demanded. "You can't tell the truth even if they wouldn't freak with the, 'Hi mom and dad, this is my shape-shifting girlfriend who just so happens to think I'm her soul mate and by the way did you know that some of our business partners are blood sucking fiends?'"

"The Cullens are nothing compared to some of the people my father is forced to deal with on a daily basis," Ben said off-handedly. "And you're being over dramatic. I'll simply say, 'This is my girlfriend Leah. I met her on campus. What's for lunch?'" He smothered an egg roll in duck sauce and ate it in two huge bites before licking the smeared sauce off his fingers.

"You're such a boy," I said in a huff.

"And you worry too much," he said and leaned over to kiss me. He tasted like onions and peppers from his food. I leaned into the kiss, loving the feel of his soft mouth against mine. He reached up and gently stroked my face. "You're so warm," he said. "And you smell good."

"Oh?" I said stupidly. I was drowning in the sea of his eyes and drunk on the scent of his breath coming from his mouth, only inches away from mine. I'd long since lost track of what was going on with the movie and was interested only in the feel of his skin as he moved to wrap his arm around my shoulders.

"Ok," I said. "I'll go. But I'm stating in advance that I think this is a bad idea."

O O O O O O O

The morning came with pouring rain and a message on my apartment phone from my coach saying the meet was rescheduled for tomorrow night at the indoor track of a nearby campus. _There went my last chance for getting out of going today,_ I thought darkly. _What the hell am I going to wear?_

In the end I settled on the fitted white shirt Bella had bought me, with the new black sweater. The label told me it was cashmere and I thought I'd never felt anything so soft. I added a gray skirt to try to appear lady-like and tall black boots. _There,_ I thought as I looked in the mirror. That wasn't too hard. Neat and feminine. _Oh God, I'm going to make an idiot of myself. _

I was still trying to figure out some way of getting out of going when Ben and I pulled up in his parents drive way 2 hours later. The trip had been pleasant and the rain lightened up to a misting the further north we drove.

An older gentleman who Ben identified as Manfred took the car keys from Ben when we pulled up. Ben drove a small silver Toyota that while pretty new and well taken care of, was in no way ostentatious. I was beginning to realize that was Ben's style. Ben's parent's home had a white, good sized house in a wooded lot off the main road. A large flower garden grew all along one side of the house and the driveway curved away to a garage mostly hidden by a stand of trees. It wasn't overly impressive in its size, but the sheer perfection of the manicured lawn and sparkling windows made me nervous.

"See," Ben said as we walked to the front door. "Nothing to be afraid of."

"I'm not afraid of anything," I told him as he opened the front door. Ben's mother met us in the foyer.

"Ben!' His mother gave him a hug and looked up at him lovingly. She was fairly average height for a woman. I guessed about 5'7. She had graying blonde hair and was dressed casually in khakis and a green blouse. "Your father is stuck at the office in a last minute meeting and won't make it to lunch, but he should get here before you leave so he can see you."

"Oh good," Ben said. "I was hoping he'd get to meet Leah." She smiled brightly at me and squeezed my hand in greeting.

"I'm so glad you could come," she said. "Ben has been very lacking in details concerning you so I'm looking forward to talking to you over lunch."

"Um, OK," I stumbled and looked at Ben accusingly. _I'm going to kill you for this._

I followed them to the formal dining room and sat down at the place set for me next to Ben. He chattered with his mother, filling her in on everything that had been going on with him lately (minus some glaring details) in regards to school. Lunch was a green salad with grilled chicken and vinaigrette. I breathed out a soft sigh of relief. I had secretly been expecting escargot or frog legs. She _did_ notice the change in his face, but readily accepted his excuse of falling.

"Is Dr. Higgins still giving you trouble?" his mother asked.

"Nothing I can't handle," Ben said.

"Don't let him treat you unfairly," his mother warned. "He's always been an irritable old goat." Here she looked at me and explained. "I met Ben's father while we were at college. Benjamin was almost thrown out of class on more than one occasion for harassing Professor Higgins."

"Probably one good reason he has it out for me," Ben said lightly. "I've made A's on all his tests though. He can't complain that I'm not doing the work."

At this point we were interrupted by a dark haired woman in a gray uniform coming into the dining room.

"Mrs. Lincoln," she said softly. "Mister Ryan just drove up."

"Thank you Angelina," Ben's mother said and the woman left.

"You didn't tell me Ryan was coming," Ben said angrily. I glanced at him nervously at hearing his tone.

"That's because I didn't know," his mother replied calmly. "Your brother is of course always welcome here. Excuse me for a moment please." She stood from the table and left the dining room.

"Who's Ryan?" I whispered to Ben, looking down the hall after his mother.

"My younger brother," Ben said. "He's just turned 18 and is an irritation and an embarrassment. He's supposed to be out of town. I was hoping to spare you from having to deal with him."

"Ah," I said. "I take it you don't get along."

"No," was his tight reply.

His mother came back then and seeing that Ben and I had finished our lunches, suggested we move to the sunroom where we could sit and talk while we waited for Ben's father to get home. I asked Ben where the bathroom was on the way there.

"It's just around the corner to the right," he said. "The sunroom is at the end of this hall when you're done. You can't miss it."

I stepped out of the bathroom and almost ran into another man. I recognized immediately that it was Ben's brother. They had the same gold brown hair and his eyes were shaped the same. But Ryan was shorter and thicker and he had a general air of arrogance around him that immediately put me on edge.

"Oh," I said and dodged around him. "Excuse me." His eyes were bloodshot and they raked over me, taking in my full height before leering at me in what I guess he assumed to be a friendly manner. I had put myself at the dead end of a hall when I'd moved around him and now I tried to inch out of his way and make my way to the sunroom where Ben was waiting.

"So you're Ben's little gold digger," he slurred. He reeked like Pot and I wrinkled my nose against the smell and backed away from him. I hit a wall behind me and he stepped forward to trap me. I looked for a way to get around the idiot without making a scene in Ben's parent's house. _Great,_ I thought. _Now what do I do? _I certainly wasn't afraid of this stupid kid, but I was determined not to do anything to cause trouble here. "Not the prettiest, but you've got hot legs. I bet you fuck like a bitch." He had his hand an inch from my thigh when I growled and threw him against the side wall. He slapped up against it like a doll thrown by a child and I heard a sickening wet "Pop!" as his shoulder popped out of socket. The window looking out into the garden shattered and glass fell out of its panes and into the bushes outside. Ryan screamed and fell to the floor, clutching his hurt shoulder and cursing. I left him huddled there and walked away from him as calmly as I could. The wolf in me was snarling and I was trying my best to keep my temper under control. Ben came tearing around the corner when he heard his brother's shouting and the window break. His mother was right behind him.

"Ryan!" She knelt down next to him in the hall. "What happened" Are you all right?"

"Bitch threw me against the fucking wall!" he shouted and pointed at me standing at the end of the hall. I didn't say anything, and instead turned on my heel to stride from the house, quivering in suppressed rage. _Damn. I forgot someone took the car_, I thought, and stood for a moment looking at the empty driveway, trying to decide what to do. I had just decided I was going to run into town and call a cab when Ben came running out of the house behind me.

"Leah!" he yelled and ran to my side. He reached out a hand for me but I jerked out of the way.

"Don't touch me!" I said severely. I was still shaking in anger at what had happened and there was no way I was taking the risk I might phase suddenly and hurt him. Luckily for me, Ben listened and let his hand drop.

"What happened?" he asked. "Are you all right? What did he do?"

"Nothing that warranted me nearly taking his arm off," I said tightly.

"I doubt that," Ben said. "Ryan's a spoiled brat and always has been. He thinks that just because he's rich and good looking he should be able to take whatever he wants."

"Whatever," I said. "Can we go home please?"

"Yeah, just let me-" He stopped as a sleek black car pulled into the driveway. "Oh good. My father's home. I've got to tell him what's going on. Can you wait in the garden for a few minutes while I talk to him and get the car? It's just around the side of the house and I'll try to hurry." I nodded and disappeared around the side of the house just as Ben's father was rushing up the brick walkway to the front door.

"Ben," he said. "What's going on? I was almost home and your mother just called me and said that Ryan has hurt himself and she's taking him to the hospital-" they went inside and I heard the front door slam closed.

I sat down on a concrete bench under a decorative arbor to wait. A heavy vine had been trained over it and it spilled down around me in loops and curls with heart shaped leaves. The garden had several fall blooming plants, but most of the decorative trees and bushes had already lost their leaves and entered dormancy for the upcoming winter. All my senses were trained on the house where I could make out the rise and fall of shouting voices. They fell silent and a few moments later, I heard a car being pulled up in front of the house and the front door open and slam. Ben stomped around the side of house looking for me.

"Let's go," he said shortly. I nodded and followed him to the car. He thanked the older man who had brought the car from the garage and threw the car in gear before we peeled out of the driveway. I'd had a moment in the tranquil garden to calm down. Ben was still silently seething. His cell phone began ringing when we were 15 minutes down the road. He glanced at the caller ID and resolutely turned it off.

"I'm sorry," I finally ventured. "I didn't mean to hurt-"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry," he said angrily. I was quiet. When his breathing had almost returned to normal he said, "What happened? Did he hurt you?"

"No," I said. "He couldn't have if he'd tried. He just tried to cop a feel and said some stupid things. I think he was pretty high. I could smell pot on him."

"The jackass was probably smoking it in the car on the drive over," Ben said. "I'm sorry Leah, you shouldn't have had to deal with that."

I mumbled something in agreement and spent the rest of the car ride staring out the window, hearing over and over again in my mind the sound of Ryan's shoulder popping from its socket.


	7. First Love

Fic: Loving Leah

Chapter Seven: First Love

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Twilight characters. Everyone else portrayed here is mine.

Ben house phone was ringing when we walked in the door. I stood in the living room and listened to him talking to his father on the phone.

"If Ryan is still living there I'm not going to visit anymore." Ben said angrily. "Period. What he did today was completely unacceptable." He listened to his father on the other end for a second. "Yes sir, I know that's going to hurt mom, but that doesn't change my decision. I refuse to subject Leah to his despicable behavior." He paused. "Well Leah is important to me!" I left him talking with his father and quietly slipped out the front door.

It didn't take long enough to get home, even walking slowly.

Jenny was whisking milk and cocoa into hot chocolate when I walked into the apartment. I was drenched from walking in the rain. If I'd been normal I would have been freezing, but as it was, I was just uncomfortably wet. Jenny exclaimed over my sodden state and sent me to change into dry clothes. When I came back wearing pajamas, she poured me a mug of chocolate and told me to sit at the counter and tell her what had happened. Karen was spending the night out at Brandon's. I was grateful. Karen was a spitfire and would rise to any challenge presented to her with a fierceness that rivaled my own, but Jenny was a listener and that's what I needed now. I stared into the large mug of cocoa.

"Is this going to make me sick?" I asked. Jenny shook her head.

"It shouldn't," she said. She indicated the quart of milk that was designated as mine. "I used the lactose free in yours." I took a small sip. It was perfect and the heat of it in my stomach did a little to settle the feeling of writhing snakes I had felt since we left Ben's parents house. "Start at the beginning," Jenny said gently.

I told her everything, only substituting my throwing Ryan with my tripping him and his falling on his shoulder. Jenny humphed and took my mug to rinse it in the sink. "Well, it sounds like the little bastard deserves what he got," she said. "It could have been another girl he decided to pick on, one who wasn't capable of knocking him on his fanny and then what would have happened?" I nodded silently in agreement. "What did Ben say about it?" she asked. I flinched.

"He was really angry-"

"Not at you right?" she demanded. I shook my head.

"No," I said. "He's mad at his brother. Really mad. When I left his apartment he was on the phone with his dad yelling about it."

"Ouch," she said. "That's harsh that you were drug into an argument with his family. I hope it will all work out. In the meantime, why don't you get a hot shower and go to bed. You look like you could use some sleep. I'm sure Ben will come by tomorrow so you two can work it out." I thanked Jenny and went to bed.

O O O O O O O

I didn't see Ben the next day. Or the next.

O O O O O O O

My track meet went fine on Sunday night. I brushed off all my teammates attempts to talk afterwards and sat alone on the bus on the way back to campus. Jenny shook her head when I asked if Ben had stopped by while I was gone.

Monday the skies were clear and I walked to Ben's apartment after my two o' clock class. I rang the doorbell and waited outside. I tried the doorbell again a few minutes later and got no answer. I left a note in his mailbox asking for him to call me when he got home, and walked back into my apartment. I went straight to my room when I got there, dumped my backpack in the corner before stripping off all my clothes and climbing under my covers. I was fast asleep at seven and didn't hear Jenny quietly tapped on my door to ask if I wanted any dinner.

I dreamed of the battle with the newborns when I'd nearly been killed by my own stupidity. I heard Jacob's leg break when he pulled the leech off me and it turned to strike at him suddenly. He howled in pain and I lunged to grab the vampire's arm and rip it off. Then the dream changed and it was Ryan screaming in pain as my wolf form stood over him, tearing through his flesh and ripping his arm off with my teeth. I still had the twitching appendage in my mouth when I lifted my head to meet Ben's eyes, staring at me in horror.

I woke up in a sweat and stumbled into the shower to try and wash off the stink off bad memories. I stayed until the water turned cold. Jenny was gone to baking class when I got out and Karen worked this morning at her part-time job. For once, I wasn't hungry and passed up breakfast to get dressed to go to the library to study. I'd fallen behind on my studying this past week and with mid-terms coming up, I needed to cram as much as possible. I spent a few minutes before I left throwing my jeans in the washer. I hadn't done laundry in a few days and some of my clothes were still all wet from being out in the rain. I raided the last of the department store bags from our shopping spree last week and ended up with a red sweater and pink patterned skirt. I jotted a note on the white board in case anyone made it home before me to please put my pants in the dryer then grabbed my backpack and headed to the library.

O O O O O O O

I glared after the retreating freshman I had just sent scurrying. I knew it was bound to happen sometime that someone else besides Ben and I would discover the quiet corner, but it was still irritating. Luckily, all it had taken was the sight of me descending like an avenging angel on the young man to make him quickly grab his books and stuttering apologies, almost run to the stairs. The library was packed with anxious students studying for midterms. It made sense that some may have wandered down here looking for an open spot. I spread out my books and papers, muttering vague obscenities under my breath and sat down to study.

"I think that freshman may have just wet himself," Ben said. I whipped around in my seat and glared at my imprint standing casually behind me.

"Where the hell have you _been_?" I demanded and leapt out of my seat. "You up and disappeared for two days. I went by your apartment looking for you!" He looked shocked.

"Why didn't you call me?" He demanded. "After you took off from my apartment I figured you were still pissed about what happened and you wanted me to leave you alone. I finally called your apartment today and Karen said you weren't home. I took a chance that you might be here."

"Did it ever occur to you that you never gave me your fucking cell phone number?" I said. That stopped him short and he raised one hand to rub his head.

"Well that explains it," he said. "Sorry, Leah. I left to go take care of some stuff with my family. I just drove back last night."

"Look," I said. "I was thinking about it and I really don't want to cause any trouble between you and your family. We've been taking things a little fast. Maybe we should just take a little break and-"

"You're not the problem," he said harshly.

"Well I don't want them to think I'm your 'little gold digger' either!"

"You couldn't care less about my money! The only thing you are Leah," He said as he bent to kiss me. "Is mine."

O O O O O O O

"This wasn't how I figured this would happen," Ben said, buttoning his jeans back up.

"Having sex with your girlfriend on industrial grade carpeting?" I asked, snagging my panties from under the table. I stuffed them into my open backpack.

"Yeah," he said. "The burns on my ass are killing me." I laughed. I felt wonderful. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I'll kiss them for you later," I teased.

"Hey seriously," he said. "That wasn't very romantic of me. It wasn't how I wanted our first time to be."

"What?" I asked. "Did you want candles and rose petals? A little Marvin Gaye in the CD player?"

"Well, minus the Marvin because that's just cheesy, but yeah."

"Ben, you're so sweet," I said and moved to kiss him again. I heard the basement door open and groaned. _Well, at least it wasn't 10 minutes ago…_ I thought. "We'd better get out of here before we get into any more trouble." He agreed and we quickly left the library.

"Well, I suppose as far as losing your virginity stories go," he said as we trotted to the lot where he was parked. "The basement of the library beats the back of a car." He unlocked the passenger side door for me and held it open expectantly. I got in and waited as he hopped into the driver's seat and pulled out of the lot.

"Ben, I…" _I really wish I could say otherwise, right now. _"I wasn't a virgin."

"Yeah," he said. "I figured that out after about the first minute. I was referring to me." I stared at him dumbfounded and he calmly waited at the red light and then pulled out into traffic.

"You're a virgin!" I all but shouted. "How?"

"Was," he smirked. "Sorry Miss Clearwater. You've compromised my virtue beyond repair. You'll just have to marry me."

"How on Earth did _YOU_ manage to make it to twenty without having sex? And why didn't you tell me?" I demanded. "I wouldn't have-"

"Probably for the same reason you didn't tell me," he said he reached over and took my hand. "It doesn't matter. There's nothing else from now on but you and me. Everything else that came before, doesn't count."

O O O O O O O

"I'll get you a clean towel," he said and left the bathroom while I stripped out of my clothes. I hummed happily under the hot water of the shower. We were back at his apartment. I was missing my afternoon practice, but Jen and Karen would cover for me when Coach called looking for me.

"So help me if you're humming _Like a Virgin_ in there!" He said from outside the shower.

"Touched for the very first time!" I belted out. "Like a viiir~gin! With your heartbeat, next to mine!" I turned off the water and screeched as the curtain was thrown back. Ben threw a fluffy towel around me and picked me up, still squealing and giggling.

"That's it," he said laughing. "Two minutes in the box for inappropriate use of a Madonna song."

O O O O O O O

"Well, we made it to the bed this time," I said laughing. "We'll try for the candles next time, ok?" He stopped his slow stroking of my back and a look of horror crossed his face. "What?" I demanded and sat up. "Ben, what's wrong?"

"It has belatedly occurred to me that I am a moron who obviously never paid any attention in any of the painful Sex-Ed classes I had in high school," he said. "I didn't use any protection. Do you-"

"It's ok," I said, trying to calm him down. "I can't get pregnant." He looked confused.

"It's a part of my wolf thing," I said grudgingly. "I'm not aging. I have to stop phasing before I can age again."

"Oh," he said. "Well, that's good, I guess."

"Do you want to tell me what happened with your parents?" I asked gently. He laid down next to me and I propped myself up on my elbow so I could look at him. His hair was in complete disarray and he was still flushed from our lovemaking. He was beautiful.

"After we left on Saturday," he said. "My parents took him to the hospital. My dad said the X-rays showed that his arm was dislocated and his scapula was cracked."

"What did he say to the doctors?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter," Ben said. "My father said they did some blood work while they were there and his test came back positive for drugs. He could have seen you phase in the middle of the living room and tap dance and no one would believe him."

"My dad looked so worn out when I saw him," he said. "I hadn't realized how bad it had gotten with Ryan at home. When I was there I helped keep an eye on him, but now that he's out of school he's in more trouble than ever."

"He hasn't always been like this," he said. "We're only two years apart and when we were kids and we were inseparable. My dad used to travel a lot with business when we were younger and sometimes he'd take us with him. We had these grand adventures." He smiled at some happy memory, but then his face became more serious. "Things started to change when I was in high school and people outside of the family started paying extra attention to me. I was the heir apparent and a lot was expected of me. I had been raised my whole life knowing that one day I was going to take over the company from dad and my grandfather. It was always stressed to me how important it was that I step up to take care of the family. And it is important!" He got up out of bed and I followed him. He pulled on a pair of pajama bottoms and handed me a soft flannel robe. I tied it on and followed him into the kitchen.

"I had a lot of friends and teachers tell me that I could do anything I wanted when I grew up," he said. "But I didn't have that option and that was OK with me." He got two glasses out of a cabinet and poured us each a glass of water out of the pitcher in the fridge. I sipped mine gratefully as he continued.

"The art in the living room? My dad gave me that painting for my 17th birthday. It's called _Duty_. He told me at the time how proud he was of me that I was following in his footsteps. He started taking me to his office a couple of days a week after school and introduced me to everyone. He told me, 'All these people rely on us to work hard and keep them in their jobs. It's our job to make sure that they are well taken care of and that the company is one they can be proud of.'" I nodded, trying to understand the weight of the responsibilities he was so willingly shouldering.

"Ryan used to tease me that I was stuck forever following in dad's footsteps and that he could do whatever he wanted," Ben said. "But I could tell it stung him that dad was putting so much effort into grooming me for my position. He made some crazy friends in high school and he and I started to argue a lot. It got even worse after I'd graduated." He turned away from me and leaned on the counter. The muscles in his back flexed as he wrestled with the memories he was bringing up. I reached up to trace the line of one shoulder.

"He had this girlfriend he was in love with," he said. "She wasn't nearly as devoted to him. But he was convenient for her in that he had money and would buy her drugs. I tried to talk to him about it, but he wouldn't listen to any criticism of her. He loved her and as far as he was concerned, that was that." I was startled when he gave a humorless laugh.

"Then I had to go and do something really stupid," he said. "My parents wouldn't do anything about Ryan and Laurie. My dad had a pretty bad rebellious streak when he was younger and he thought Ryan would just grow out of it like he had. So I decided to try something myself." He turned back towards me and his eyes met mine.

"I found Laurie and gave her money, a lot of it. The condition was she had to break it off with Ryan. Well, it worked. She took off with the money and stopped talking to Ryan. Problem was she used the money to buy a lot of cocaine at once. She overdosed and died from it. The police found one of the money transfers I had sent her and contacted me to ask about it. I told them the truth and was cleared in her death, but Ryan has never forgiven me for it. He thinks I'm to blame for her overdosing." He reached out for me and I wrapped my arms around him. I reached down and opened up the robe so our skin was touching from waist to shoulder. I could feel his heart beating against my chest.

"I think I talked my parents into putting Ryan in rehab," he said. "But my brother has made it abundantly clear that he doesn't want to see you or me ever again."

Author's notes: I plan on going back after this fic is done and making a separate entry with all the lemons in it. Until then, feel free to use your imagination ^_^


	8. News

Fic: Loving Leah

Chapter 8: News

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Twilight characters. Everyone else portrayed here is mine.

"Somebody got lai~d!" Karen sang as I walked in the door. My face flamed up instantly. I dropped my bag by the door and let her drag me to the couch. "Spill!" she demanded. "Brandon's gone camping with his fraternity brothers and I have to live vicariously."

"Camping?" I said, confused. "It's the middle of the week! Don't they have classes?" I immediately went to the fridge and was relieved to see Jenny had left a container of leftovers from last night's dinner for me. Ben and I had made due with a couple of cans of soup for dinner, but there had been nothing for breakfast. We'd woken up just in time for him to hurriedly dress and rush to his morning class. He'd kissed me on the landing outside his apartment long enough that we were both panting when we broke apart and I groaned when I could feel him hard against me.

"If you want to get to class," I warned him. "You'd better go now or else I'm going to drag you back inside and have my way with you." A whistle from one of his neighbors startled us apart and Ben flipped him off before giving me one more, quick kiss and running to his car. I'd jogged back to my apartment grinning like an idiot.

"They took their professors with them!" Karen said and threw her hands into the air in exasperation. "It's a tradition apparently. They all go out in the woods drinking beer and freezing their asses off. Male bonding," she snorted. "No thanks." I laughed. Karen's idea of roughing it was a Motel 6. She got up off the couch and leaning her elbows on the kitchen counter, grinned like a cat in the cream.

"Your coach called," she said with a wink. "I told her you were sick as a dog and throwing up. She said she thought you seemed a little off on Sunday and said to rest so you'll be up for your next meet." I fought down another bright blush. Man, if they pack saw me blush like that they would tease me for all eternity.

"Thanks," I said gratefully and dug into the macaroni and cheese. The creamy sauce on it had a spicy bite and I hastily gulped my water. Jenny was one for making a person think they were eating something ordinary and then adding something unexpected. "I got um, busy and forgot to call her." I looked curiously at a piece of green among the noodles. _Is that Asparagus?_

"_Busy_," Karen laughed. "_Right_." I hid my face in my hands and groaned. _Great choice of words there, Leah._ My stomach roared and I hastily shoveled in more food.

"Oh, by the way," She said. "There's a message for you on the voicemail. Some guy named Jacob. You didn't find another boyfriend while Ben was gone did you?"

"No, no," I waved away her ridiculous question with my fork and grabbed the phone to listen to the voicemail.

"_Hey Leah, it's Jacob. Check in with me when you get home. Bye."_

"Hmm," I said. _I wonder what's going on._

"Everything OK?" Karen asked. I nodded. I reached for another forkful of macaroni and frowned when I realized it was all gone. _Damn. I'm still hungry._

"I'm sure everything is fine," I said. "Jake is a close friend of my family. When he dropped by last week it was to tell me that my mom is getting married. He's probably calling to harass me about going again." Karen opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when the alarm on her watch went off.

"Oh, boo," she pouted. "I've got to head to work."

"And I'd better call Jacob back," I said, waving the phone. Of course I wouldn't be using the phone to get in touch with Jake, but Karen didn't know that. "I'll see you tonight."

I waited until I heard Karen rush out the front door, slamming it behind her in her haste, before I locked myself in my room, stripped out of my clothes and phased. I didn't think Jake would be phased in the middle of the day, but if he'd called it was obviously important. I was surprised to find him there instantly. The Cullens were out hunting and Jacob was running with them through a densely wooded area.

"_It's about time you decided to check in," he said. "Have you been out all night?" _My memories of last night popped to the forefront of my thoughts before I could stuff them back in the recesses of my brain. A mixture of shock and amusement colored Jacob's thoughts.

"_Damnit"_ I thought. _"Sorry. I'm out of practice."_

"_Well, I really didn't need to see that, but I suppose it was inevitable. At least he was safe all night."_

"_What do you mean 'at least he was safe'?"_ I demanded. _"What's going on?"_

"_There's a vamp in your area," _he said. _"He isn't on best terms with the Cullens and we ran into him yesterday. Edward picked out of his mind that he had been hanging around our hotel and saw you and Ben leave from there. The vamp thinks Ben is connected to the Cullens in some way." _I watched throughJake's eyes as Renesmee took down a small deer. Its petite hooves thrashed helplessly as she gulped down its life's blood without spilling a drop. I instinctively snarled. _Leeches!_

Jacob quickly averted his gaze. _"They're hunting to be at full strength in case there's a fight," _he explained.

"_Shit!"_ I said. _"Why didn't you kill him? He could come after Ben!"_

"_We tried," _Jacob said. _"He got away first. He was in a public place and we were surrounded by people. We're going to finish hunting here as quickly as possible and then head your way. Just try to stay out of trouble."_

"_Jake,"_ I said seriously. _"We're going to have to kill it. I can't let it near Ben."_

"_I know,"_ he replied. _"It's going to be all right. We're going to take care of it. We're moving from the hotel to a house in a more wooded area. It'll be safer if things come to head. Stay safe."_

_Easier said than done,_ I thought later as I was sitting at our kitchen table, sorting through notes I would need to study for midterms. I was lucky in that I only had two left. One of my midterms had been a project that I'd handed in two weeks ago and another of my professors only had a final at the end of class. I was having a hard time concentrating on even that few classes though. How was I supposed to protect Ben without having him with me every second?

"I thought we'd invite Ben over for dinner tonight," Jenny said. She opened the oven and the delicious smell of fresh baked bread wafted towards me. _Mmm. Molasses bread._

"That is," Karen said mischievously. "If you two can keep it dry long enough to make it through dinner." I leveled a look at her across my stacks of notes.

"I have two words for you Karen," I said, smirking. "Noise violation." Jenny snorted with laughter as Karen blushed. She and Brandon had been a little enthusiastic during the beginning of their relationship and one day after Jenny and I had been gone all day, I arrived home to find an angry note from our downstairs neighbors regarding the noise. I vaguely wondered how thick the walls were at Ben's apartment. We hadn't exactly been quiet last night.

"I still can't believe you wouldn't let me put earplugs in their mailbox," Karen muttered. "Nosy bastards." I smirked at her.

"Let's see," Jenny said, flipping through a cookbook. "I need something that's going to feed four people." She began opening cabinets and perusing our pantry. "Beef stew should be good and I've got that bag of blackberries I froze so I can make a cobbler…"

My mouth was watering just listening to her, but my mind reverted back to its worn path around the vamp and how I was supposed to keep Ben safe without watching him every minute of every day. Would the vamp even have any interest in Ben? Ben involved with the Cullens in business only and if the leech was looking for an opportunity to get back at them then it would seem Renesmee would be the much more obvious target. Of course, she was fiercely protected by that whole family and Jake as well… The shrill ringing of the phone startled me and I almost fell off my stool. I ran to snatch the receiver before Jenny could get to it.

"Hello?"

"Hello," a crisp voice on the other line responded. "May I speak to Miss Clearwater, please?"

"This is her," I said. _Who the heck?_

"This is Francis Halies with Brown Developments," she continued. "We've reviewed your application for internship at our office. We enjoyed your work and would like for you to come in for an interview."

My hand tightened on the phone and the plastic squeaked in protest. I had mailed my recommendation and some examples from my portfolio last week but with everything going on, I'd completely forgotten about it. My mouth opened and closed like a landed fish. Jenny looked at me concerned and mouthed, "What?"

"Would you be available to come by tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 to speak to our review board?" Francis asked.

"Yes!" I finally got out, too loudly. I struggled to reign in my enthusiasm. "That would be fine," I tried to say casually. My drafting midterm was at that time, but my professor had said that anyone could come in early to take it if there was a scheduling conflict.

"Very well," she said. "We'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yes. Thank you." I hung up the phone. Jenny was still watching me with a worried expression.

"Everything is fine," I assured her. "That was about the internship I applied for. They liked my work!" I crowed. "They want me to come in for an interview tomorrow."

"That's fantastic!" Jenny exclaimed. "Go call Ben right now and tell him about it." She shoved the portable phone into my hand and steered me to my bedroom. I sat down on my bed and took a few deep breaths. My heart was racing. I managed to calm it before I called.

Ben's cell phone went right to voicemail. I frowned at the phone and rummaged around on my desk to find Ben's house number. It rang a dozen times before it too, went to voicemail. I left a quick message for him to call me when he got in. I stared at the phone for a minute, possibilities racing through my head and then grabbed my shoes to pull them on. It wasn't far. I could run over to his apartment and see if he was home. Make sure he was safe.

"I'm going for a quick run!" I announced as I darted through the kitchen to the front door.

"Use a condom!" Karen shouted just before I closed the door. I heard Jenny's laughter erupt from inside the apartment as I leapt down the stairs and took off at a dead run. I laughed at Karen's assumption that I was running over to Ben's for celebratory sex, but my mood quickly turned nervous as I noticed the setting sun.

Night came early at this time of the year. It had been cloudy all day and there was a vamp on the loose in the area and it wasn't like Ben not to answer his phone. By the time my thoughts had gotten to this point I was in a full sprint, eating up the distance to Ben's apartment in huge running strides. I tore around the side of his apartment building and skidded to a halt in the parking lot. Ben was just getting out of his car.

"Leah," he said and smiled at me tiredly. Then he looked concerned, "Are you all right?"

"I am now," I replied. "Why aren't you answering your phone?"

"Damn thing is dead," he said, pulling the dark phone out of his pocket. "I dropped a penny in the car power outlet by accident and it fried the circuit. I forgot to charge my phone last night and then I couldn't charge it in the car. I can't remember the last time my battery actually died." He frowned at the phone and I laughed with relief.

He smiled questionably at me, "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you need to study for your midterm tomorrow?"

"I have been," I said. "And I will more tonight. I came over to get you. Jenny's making a special dinner for you." He raised one eyebrow.

"Is it a 'Leah got laid' dinner?" He asked and I burst out laughing and reached out to pull him to me. He wrapped his arms around me and my world coalesced into nothing but the warmth of him through the soft cotton of his shirt. "Dinner sounds great," he said. "I'm starving."

"Good," I said and pulled away from him. I wished I didn't have to ruin the moment with ugly news. "Will you walk back with me?" I asked. "I need to talk to you about some things." He squeezed his eyes shut and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Yeah, I need to tell you what's going on with me as well," he said.

Author's notes: Sorry this was so long in coming. Real life got in the way.


End file.
